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As the world watches the Russian invasion of Ukraine unfold, UkraineAlert delivers the best Atlantic Council expert insight and analysis on Ukraine twice a week directly to your inbox.


editor’s picks

Latest analysis


UkraineAlert

May 27, 2024

Russia is bombing book publishers as Putin wages war on Ukrainian identity

By
Maria Avdeeva

Russia’s recent targeted bombing of a major Ukrainian book publishing plant in Kharkiv is part of the Kremlin’s wider war against Ukrainian national identity, writes Maria Avdeeva.

Civil Society
Conflict


UkraineAlert

May 23, 2024

Pride of Ukraine: Oleksandr Usyk’s historic victory boosts wartime morale

By
Joshua Stein

Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk’s remarkable achievement in unifying the heavyweight division for the first time this century has provided war-torn Ukraine with a welcome morale boost, writes Joshua Stein.

Conflict
Resilience & Society


UkraineAlert

May 23, 2024

Ukraine faces long-term mental health challenges among veteran community

By
Claire Szewczyk

Far away from the front lines of the country’s ongoing war with Russia, growing numbers of Ukrainian veterans are facing up to the psychological aftermath of their military service, writes Claire Szewczyk.

Civil Society
Conflict


UkraineAlert

May 23, 2024

President Zelenskyy’s term is over but he’s still a legitimate wartime leader

By
Elena Davlikanova

Kremlin attempts to question the legitimacy of Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy due to the end of his official term in office ignore the obvious impossibility of holding elections amid Europe’s biggest invasion since World War II, writes Elena Davlikanova.

Civil Society
Conflict


UkraineAlert

May 21, 2024

Ukraine’s Western allies should fear Russian victory not Russian defeat

By
Peter Dickinson

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy says his country’s allies fear the potential geopolitical consequences of Russian defeat, but Russian victory is a far more realistic and alarming prospect, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Defense Industry


UkraineAlert

May 21, 2024

Ukraine’s soccer stars aim for Euro 2024 glory amid Russian invasion

By
Mark Temnycky

The Ukrainian national soccer team heads to Euro 2024 in Germany this summer hoping to provide their war-weary compatriots with a much-needed morale boost, writes Mark Temnycky.

Conflict
Freedom and Prosperity


UkraineAlert

May 16, 2024

Anger and defiance in Kharkiv as advancing Russian troops draw closer

By
Maria Avdeeva

The mood in Kharkiv is a mix of anger, anxiety, and defiance as Ukraine’s second city prepares to defend itself against a new Russian offensive, writes Maria Avdeeva.

Conflict
Drones


UkraineAlert

May 15, 2024

Georgia’s government uses Kremlin playbook to consolidate grip on power

By
Lucy Minicozzi-Wheeland

The Georgian government’s efforts to adopt a Kremlin-style law imposing restrictions on civil society has sparked huge protests and led to questions over the country’s future geopolitical direction, writes Lucy Minicozzi-Wheeland.

Civil Society
Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

May 14, 2024

Russia’s growing kamikaze drone fleet tests Ukraine’s limited air defenses

By
Marcel Plichta

Russia’s expanding fleet of kamikaze drones poses an evolving security threat to Ukraine that tests the country’s limited air defense capabilities, writes Marcel Plichta.

Conflict
Defense Industry


UkraineAlert

May 14, 2024

Putin appoints economist as defense minister as Russia plans for long war

By
Mercedes Sapuppo

The appointment of a technocrat economist as Russia’s new Defense Minister is a clear sign that Putin preparing the country for a long war with Ukraine and the West, writes Mercedes Sapuppo.

Conflict
Defense Industry

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The views expressed in UkraineAlert are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Atlantic Council, its staff, or its supporters.

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Content

UkraineAlert

Sep 22, 2017

Ukraine’s Diplomatic War for Peace

By Nataliya Katser-Buchkovska

These early autumn days are still hot—particularly for the upper crust of the diplomatic world attending the United Nations General Assembly’s 72nd session. Much remains at stake. In particular, Ukraine will once again be requesting UN peacekeeping missions and other assistance from the United Nations to help bring the conflict in the east to a […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Sep 21, 2017

The Tragedy of Ukrainian Politics

By Melinda Haring

It’s no secret that Ukraine’s reforms have stalled. Reformers both in and out of government agree, however, that the one change that might reignite the country’s push for reform is the establishment of an independent anticorruption court. Ukraine’s beleaguered activists have urged the government to adopt it, and the West led by the International Monetary […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Sep 21, 2017

Sadovyi: Stop Fighting, Start Working Together

By Melinda Haring

Andriy Sadovyi, the mayor of Lviv and leader of the Samopomich Party, hasn’t had an easy year. He was seen as the most likely challenger to President Petro Poroshenko in the 2019 presidential election before a fire at waste facility in May 2016 killed four and sullied his sterling reputation. As a result, his numbers […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Sep 19, 2017

Warrior’s Heart Program Helps Ukrainian Veterans Heal

By Iuliia Mendel

Late on the night of September 6, Oleksiy Tomilko posted a short line on social media: “Perhaps someone wants to visit me.” He was a fifty-year old soldier who had been brought to a military hospital in his native city of Lviv after he had been wounded in the Donbas, where Ukraine has been fighting […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Sep 19, 2017

Why Arming Ukraine Would End the Deadlock in the Donbas

By Adam Reichardt and Maksym Khylko

Signals from the Trump administration are beginning to indicate a new direction in the United States’ support of Ukraine. At the end of August, Secretary of Defense James Mattis stated that the Pentagon is “actively reviewing” the issue of defensive weapons, rightly noting that “defensive weapons are not provocative unless you are an aggressor, and […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Sep 19, 2017

Ukraine Is Back

By Anders Åslund

For the first time in five years, Ukraine sold its bonds on the international market. On September 18, the Ukrainian government sold $3 billion of fifteen-year Eurobonds with a 7.375 percent annual yield. The bond issue was oversubscribed by more than three times. Initial statements mentioned a planned sale of $2.5 billion, so the Ukrainian […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Sep 13, 2017

The Key to Fixing Ukraine Isn’t What You Think It Is

By Michael Getto

Health care reform should be a top priority for Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada this fall because it can help transform Ukraine. As President Petro Poroshenko has said, “I am sure that healthcare…reforms would help [in] attracting investment and increasing economic growth,” and he’s absolutely right. In June, parliament greenlighted comprehensive health reform legislation in the first […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Sep 13, 2017

Russia: It’s Not Just Putin

By Khatuna Mshvidobadze

With Russian fingers apparently thrust into all manner of cybercrime and espionage, Western publics are trying to make sense of it all. But most news accounts do not include the key to deciphering Russian behavior in cyberspace. What drives Russia is its unique nexus of government, business, and crime, perpetuated by systemic corruption and glued […]

Cybersecurity Russia

UkraineAlert

Sep 13, 2017

Does Russia Have Hard Power in the US?

By Lada Roslycky

There is something naïve about many people born in democratic countries. They seem to take the human rights, values, and principles upon which their countries are built for granted. Dangerously, they have a difficult time imagining that their rights and freedoms can be manipulated in such a way as to threaten their institutions, national security, […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Sep 12, 2017

Russia’s Peacekeeping Proposal in Ukraine Is a Sham

By James J. Coyle

Russia has introduced a United Nations draft resolution for peacekeepers in Ukraine amid acclaim by German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel and the chairman of the Organization for Cooperation and Security in Europe (OSCE). On its face, this would appear to meet a long-standing demand of the government in Kyiv and mark a reversal of Russia’s […]

International Organizations Politics & Diplomacy